Botanical Maternity Shoot – Geneva

Escaping the cold

Ana-Maria’s maternity shoot was scheduled for late in November and the weather had already turned quite cold. Although I am very happy to shoot maternity sessions indoors, my style and preference is to have a little bit of nature in my images. So the hot houses at the botanical gardens in Geneva were a perfect compromise! In the end it was a beautiful, sunny day so the indoor spaces were quite quiet and we had them to ourselves for a good part of the shoot. The warmth meant that Ana-Maria didn’t have to hide under a big coat and both she and husband Karl could relax and enjoy the photo shoot.

A tropical maternity shoot

I love the botanical gardens and keep trying to see them in different seasons. My favourite of the hot houses is the Tropical Greenhouse and we spent some time investigating the different nooks and crannies. I always think that the natural elements help make your photos feel more subtle and timeless, something both personal and beautiful enough to hang on the wall. The muted colours of the final images give a lovely contrast to the images we took by the lake and in the rest of the garden. Although I had some interesting ‘special effects’ as my camera lenses kept steaming up from the heat!

Winter sunshine by Lake Geneva

After a few shots in the Allée des Poplaires we headed down under the road to the lake and were rewarded with lovely light and some wonderful vibrant colours. Because the winter light is so much softer than in the summer it’s possible to shoot in more direct sunlight earlier in the day. This made Ana-Maria and Karl’s carefully co-ordinated reds shine out against the lake and snow-capped mountains. A perfect memory of Switzerland for them when they move to Belgium.